Tony Bujan of San Clemente overcame Michael Chang of Anaheim, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, in 2 hours and 10 minutes Sunday to claim the men’s singles title of the United States Tennis Association National 40 Hard Court Championships at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.

Playing under sunny skies with temperatures in the 50s, the fourth-seeded Bujan jumped to a 4-0 lead over fifth-seeded Chang in the first set and, at 5-2, fought off two break points and proceeded to serve out the first set.

In the second set, Bujan began to tire as he felt the effects of his long match the previous day, when he defeated two-time defending champion Oren Motevassel in the semifinals.

Chang took a 5-3 lead and served out the set at love to even the match at one set all.

Following the break, and with new balls in play for the third set, a rejuvenated Bujan took control. He won six consecutive games in 40 minutes to close out the set and capture the championship.

“The key was the new balls in the third set. It helped a lot. He (Chang) played a good second set, and I was getting tired,” Bujan said in a release from the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. “I knew we were getting new balls and that was going to be a big factor. I have a bigger game, and he’s a retriever. I knew the faster balls were going to help me with serving and volleying. The 10-minute break helped. That was huge.”

Bujan played on the men’s professional tennis circuit briefly in the 1990s but left the game for nearly a decade. Several years ago, he began teaching tennis and playing mostly doubles.

A past winner of the USTA Boys’ 18s doubles title, Bujan said the National 40 Hard Court Championships marked his first singles tournament in 15 years.

AQUATICS CLUB FUNDRAISER A SUCCESS

San Clemente Aquatics’ annual charity swim, the Swim-a-Thon, raised more than $13,500 for the team and collected 263 pounds of donated food for the Family Assistance Ministries, the club said in a release.

Around 140 children participated in the Nov. 20 event at the San Clemente Aquatics Center and worked hard to earn donations for their growing nonprofit team. Each swam as many laps as possible in two hours, with many completing the maximum number of 200, roughly equal to 5,000 yards or almost 3 miles.

All money raised will go directly to supporting the team with incentives and team-building events, coaches’ education and chances to host home meets, San Clemente Aquatics said in the release.

PORSCHE RE-UPS

ON DE PHILLIPPI

Porsche announced Saturday that San Clemente native Connor de Phillippi will be one of four young drivers it supports as Porsche juniors in the company’s one-make series during the 2014 motorsport season.

De Phillippi returns for a second season as a Porsche junior competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, where he concluded his first season in 2013 in the GT vehicle as the top-ranked rookie and ninth overall.

“I now know how important it is to achieve a good qualifying result if you want to do well in a Carrera Cup sprint race,” de Phillippi said in a release. “Winning the rookie classification was a good start, but next year I’ll be aiming for the podium. I’m up against some tough opposition, but my dream is to climb to the very top step.”

De Phillippi, who is sponsored by Roboscan Internet Security, will receive funding of 150,000 euro – approximately $205,000 – from Porsche to support another year in the series.

SOCCER PLAYER NETS

TITLE, ALL-STAR NOD

San Clemente’s Tristan Weber was named to the all-star team after helping win a 2013 U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Developmental Program Boys Thanksgiving Interregional championship, U.S. Youth Soccer announced Dec. 6.

Weber helped the Region IV squad capture the title in the division for players born in 2000. He scored a goal in the team’s 3-1 win over Region III in the title match on Dec. 2 in Casa Grande, Ariz.